Audio and Podcasting Fact Sheet

The audio news sector in the United States is split by modes of delivery: traditional terrestrial (AM/FM) radio and digital formats such as online radio and podcasting. While terrestrial radio reaches almost the entire U.S. population and remains steady in its revenue, online radio and podcasting audiences have continued to grow over the past decade. Explore the patterns and longitudinal data about audio and podcasting below. Data on other public radio beyond podcasting are available in a separate fact sheet.

Note: This and most data on the radio sector apply to all types of listening and do not break out news, except where noted. Nielsen lists news/talk among the most listened-to radio formats; in 2017, the news/talk format earned 9.9% of radio audiences during any 15-minute period during the day.

Weekly terrestrial radio listenership

Year

% of Americans ages 12 and older who listen to terrestrial (AM/FM) radio in a given week

2009

92%

2010

92%

2011

93%

2012

92%

2013

92%

2014

91%

2015

91%

2016

91%

2017

90%

Pew Research Center

According to “The Infinite Dial” report by Edison Research and Triton Digital, the portion of the public listening to online radio continues to grow. As of early 2018, 64% of Americans ages 12 and older had listened to online radio in the past month, while 57% had listened in the past week. This is up slightly from 61% and 53%, respectively, in 2017, continuing online radio’s steady year-over-year growth.

Online radio listenership

Year

Month

Week

2007

20%

12%

2008

21%

13%

2009

27%

17%

2010

27%

17%

2011

34%

22%

2012

39%

29%

2013

45%

33%

2014

47%

36%

2015

53%

44%

2016

57%

50%

2017

61%

53%

2018

64%

57%

Pew Research Center

Online radio listening in cars, such as listening to AM/FM stations online or streaming other online audio, continues its steady increase. In 2018, 44% of U.S. cellphone owners have ever listened to online radio in a car using a phone, up from just 6% in 2010.

Online radio listenership in cars by cellphone owners

Year

% of U.S. cellphone owners who have ever listened to online radio in a car using a phone

2010

6%

2011

11%

2012

17%

2013

21%

2014

26%

2015

35%

2016

37%

2017

40%

2018

44%

Pew Research Center

The percentage of podcast listeners in America has also substantially increased over the past decade. In 2018, 44% of Americans ages 12 and older have ever listened to a podcast, according to Edison Research and Triton Digital survey data, and 26% have listened to a podcast in the past month, up from just 9% in 2008. Furthermore, 17% of those 12 and older said they have listened to a podcast in the past week, up from 7% when this was first measured in 2013. (The data in this chart, as well as in the subsequent chart about podcasts, are for all types of listening and do not break out news programs.)

Podcast listenership

Year

Ever

In the past month

In the past week

2006

11%

2007

13%

2008

18%

9%

2009

22%

11%

2010

23%

12%

2011

25%

12%

2012

29%

14%

2013

27%

12%

7%

2014

30%

15%

8%

2015

33%

17%

10%

2016

36%

21%

13%

2017

40%

24%

15%

2018

44%

26%

17%

Pew Research Center

The average weekly unique users who download NPR podcasts, which include some of the most popular podcasts in the iTunes library such as Up First and Planet Money, rose from 3.5 million in 2016 to 5.4 million in 2017, according to NPR data from Splunk. (More information about public media is available in the public broadcasting fact sheet.)

NPR podcast users

Year

Average weekly unique users who download NPR podcasts

2014

2,000,000

2015

2,500,000

2016

3,538,004

2017

5,401,231

Pew Research Center

Economics

Average radio revenue remained steady in 2017 for stations in the all-news format, according to Pew Research Center analysis of MEDIA Access Pro & BIA Advisory Services data. Over the past seven years, the average station revenue for these all-news stations has hovered between $21 million and $23 million per year. (It is worth noting that the BIA Advisory Services database only contains revenue data during these years for 15 of the 26 all-news stations; thus, only those stations are included in the averages.)

Average revenue for a combination of stations in the all-news, news/talk and news/talk/info programming is significantly lower than when looking at all-news stations alone – in 2017, $2.8 million per station. This likely stems from the fact that this category represents a much larger number of smaller stations. (The BIA Advisory Services database contains revenue data during these years for 365 stations in this category.)

Average station revenue by programming category

All-News

News/Talk/Info

Year

Average station revenue

2010

$22,728,000

2011

$23,422,000

2012

$22,810,000

2013

$22,497,000

2014

$21,640,000

2015

$21,568,000

2016

$21,822,000

2017

$20,913,000

Pew Research Center

Year

Average station revenue

2010

$2,963,000

2011

$3,038,000

2012

$3,043,000

2013

$2,961,000

2014

$2,849,000

2015

$2,796,000

2016

$2,818,000

2017

$2,762,000

Pew Research Center

There were 3,320 news employees in the radio broadcasting industry in 2017, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment Statistics. (To learn more about how we measured news employees, see the methodology.) This represents a decline since 2004, when there were 4,290 news employees.

The median wage in 2017 for news analysts, reporters and correspondents in the radio broadcasting industry was about $38,000. Editors in the radio broadcasting industry had a median annual wage of about $71,000.

Employment in radio newsrooms

Employees

Wages

Year

Newsroom employees

2004

4,290

2005

4,000

2006

4,320

2007

4,140

2008

4,570

2009

4,330

2010

4,100

2011

3,540

2012

3,610

2013

3,700

2014

3,820

2015

3,380

2016

3,190

2017

3,320

Note: The OES survey is designed to produce estimates by combining data collected over a three-year period. Newsroom employees include news analysts, reporters and correspondents; editors; photographers; and television, video and motion picture camera operators and editors.
Source: Pew Research Center analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics.

Pew Research Center

Year

News analysts, reporters,
and correspondents

Editors

Camera operators and
film and video editors

2012

$39,159

$47,395

$32,100

2013

$37,533

$55,093

$36,374

2014

$39,178

$49,273

$42,319

2015

$38,325

$58,915

$44,191

2016

$37,489

$53,496

$36,447

2017

$37,920

$70,930

Pew Research Center

Ownership

As of 2018, there were 26 AM or FM stations listed as “all-news” in the BIA Advisory Services database of radio stations. Entercom (which merged with CBS Corp. last year) is currently the parent company of 10 of these 26 stations.

About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.